The new plan.

Rael’s POV

The laughs faded with every step I took out. No matter how hard I tried avoiding it, I couldn’t deny the strain.

My hands were tightly curled into fists, the strain almost painful, yet I never stopped. My jaw remained as clenched as ever as I stepped back into the quiet place filled with all the scientists fliterring about.

The man's last words right before I left echoed in my head.

“How long can you last protecting those around you?”

It shouldn’t have shaken me the way it did. Had it been months ago that such a threat was passed my way, I would have pushed it away without a second thought.

But now… Now, things were different. There was far too much at stake. And there was a chance that whoever did this was aware.

“A dead end, I suppose?”

Mira stepped into my line of vision, eyes questioning before she stopped in her tracks. She looked me over and I could tell how she saw my tension from the way her expression changed to something more worried.

“Rael, are you–“

I cut her of